Moving to arboleas with young family- need help and advice

[blondie]

Hi Nichola, im 33 and live in arboleas with my husband and 2 boys aged 5 and 6 all i can say is rent first to see if you like the area, we personally love it and the kids get on great at the school (El Prado). We have found the perfect house and are very happy here, i hope you will find what your looking for out here and be very happy :)

[carlossaliente]

I have 2 children 3 and 5 who were both born here.  They both attended the state run spanish nursery, and my youngest  is due to leave there to start school in spetember.  If you decide to come over a MUST is to get your little one into nursery ASAP.  This will mean that as your tiny is learning to talk, they will learn in two languages.  Its much easier for them this way, as it comes ot them naturally, rather than them having to LEARN another language.  Tax returns etc have to be submitted with your application for nursery, and you could find yourself eligible for a discounted rate.  But, even if you're not, its a max of 274€ per month for Mon to Fri 9 to 5.  They get their main meal of the day in nursery (like a 3 course meal) as well as snacks morning and afternoon.  They take their naps there too on their own little beds.  And  they make SPANISH friends.  This in my opinion is very important for their ongoing life both in and out of school.  The more you can mix with the locals and their children, the more fulfilling your famioly experience will be here.
Children have to  pay for prescription from 1yr old here, but its such a minimal amount, quite often not even equating to a euro so its no big deal really.  I can´t fault the health care we have received here. 
The main thing that is a problem with small children, is clothes.  EVERYTHING for kids here is expensive, unless you want to go to Murcia to Primark or somewhere like that.  All local shops charge a bomb for clothes and shoes especially for kids.

In short my advice would be to learn the language yourself, put your little on into nursery ASAP, and don´t be afraid to mix with the Spanish families.!!!

Good luck

Natalie

[Queen Clare Shirley]

Its getting used to the different elements and being able to do without some of the finer things that England has, (Im sorry but I really miss Boots)

The endless paperwork, the middle men, the " that's the way we do it", Finding where to buy things in strange shops. I love it here, we don't want to go back and so far have no need to. The girls are being encouraged to work hard at school and get qualifications which are vital here.

If you get past the comparative stage and can accept it as it comes then its fine, but keep a way open to move back if you need to. Its hard slog in every way both financially and emotionally. There are finer points in everyone's stories and replies and everyone has their lives and opinions. The only way is to try it and find out

[awaywiththefairies]

"Definitely happier in Wales"?  Wow, AWFT, it must have been awful for you over here....(sorry, couldn´t resist, and I am only joking because I actually love Wales!).

I said the children were happier in Wales (work and education wise) not necessarily me ;D, I still love spending time there......the only thing I do not miss about Spain is the continual money worries.

Sadly as well, I was in a position to be (work wise) with a number of people at the end of their lives and made the decision I would not like to die in Spain.  This is however off topic.

[byrney]

"Definitely happier in Wales"?  Wow, AWFT, it must have been awful for you over here....(sorry, couldn´t resist, and I am only joking because I actually love Wales!).

Thankfully everyone is different as to what suits them, and our needs and aspirations definitely change throughout life.

Ten years ago I would have thought someone to be mad had they suggested to me that I would be sitting here today typing this in one of the most beautiful places in the World (imho) - albeit p*****g it down with rain!!

However, I still think that the best advice for Nichola is to try it out before committing herself (although she already knows the area well). 

Visiting and living here are two totally different ball-games and taking notice of the seemingly hundreds of people who have made rash decisions in the past and are now paying the financial and emotional price would be a wise decision.

[awaywiththefairies]

 We don't regret our time over there, but except for the weather and missing our friends we do have a  better life back in the UK. Saying that, once the kids are older we will do it all again, just the two of us and find a new place and a new adventure!


I would absolutely agree with this comment and the rest of what Nicki has said, as I am in exactly the same situation. I loved Spain, I was there for nine years as well, but my children and definitely happier in Wales (yes Wales :o) .......the grass is definitely not necessarily greener as they say!

[nicki]

We moved out in 2003 with our two boys aged 2 and 7. My youngest settled better and quicker than the eldest. I suppose it all depends on the child. We were in Spain for 9 years, don't regret it and had a great time. The schools are not like UK schools, if the kids are not academic it is hard for them, especially when they get to high school, I say this as after my eldest going through high school over there and now my youngest in high school over here there is a big difference. We had to return as there is no work over there. We had some savings but we realised that we were using them all just to live on and would have nothing left if we carried on living there. John managed to get a good job in the UK and we all returned 16 months ago. Boys are now aged 12 and 16 and after asking them if they are happy with us moving back they have both said that they are really happy, love school and college here and would never forgive us if we moved back!!!!!

As your daughter is so young I would say try it and see. Don't buy anything to start with as you don't want to be trapped there if you decide its not for you. You are all young enough to start again back in the UK. Good luck. We don't regret our time over there, but except for the weather and missing our friends we do have a  better life back in the UK. Saying that, once the kids are older we will do it all again, just the two of us and find a new place and a new adventure!

[byrney]

Yes Donna,

As a postscript to my earlier post, I would totally endorse what soulman has said about renting for a period of time while you test the water.

Paul

[soulman]

Nichola, can't really comment on the young family bit as we have no experience of bringing a young family over here.

My one piece of advice would be to rent for a period of time while you test the water.

There are plenty of good quality and reasonably priced villas to rent for around 400-500 euros per month, even less if you don't want a pool or are looking at an apartment.

The housing market here is on it's knees and prices are not going to go up in the near future so there's no rush to 'get on the property ladder'.

There are also some potentially worrying new asset disclosure requirements recently introduced by the Spanish government which apply to residents.

We only moved out here 8 months ago but have absolutely no regrets ..........however there is no way I would even consider buying a property at this moment in time.

I suspect / know a lot of expat homeowners would offer the same advice with the benefit of hindsight.

[NicholaB]

Some fab advice thanks tetley! Xx

[Tetley]

the medical is Sanitas,because your 20 somthings it should be cheaper,as for the house,pick the area,then get a translator and go and see the Mayor,he is helpfull and will tell you what area,s are urban without planning issues,Arboleas school is good as is El Parado,you also need a good lawyer,Mario in Albox is good as is M,Davis in Mojacar ,both english speaking.
:tiphat:

o and its a buyers purchase & rental market so..... no rush.

o and if you do read negative comments on here.... a lot of people are older and need diffrent things for a diffrent time of life,when your younnger its easyer to cope with the stresses and to be fair 1000,s live in this area out of choice and enjoy it,plus most days the sun shines wich helps  ;)

[NicholaB]

Thank u all so much for your comments and advice :-) some really good points for us to think about. We are coming over this summer and hoping to have made a decision by then- would love to meet with u in person! Going to look into medical, the school in arboleas and potential villas (don't want an illegal build obv- my parents went through this before buying the villa they have now and it was a nightmare)  on the whole it all sounds positive as long as we make the decision that is right for us so anything else/more u think we aught to no/consider please jump in!! :-)) x

[Tetley]

Hi!
Thinking of moving to arboleas (been visiting for years as parents villa is here) and just after the thoughts/tips and advice from any other people with children. i am 28 my husband is 31 and we have a 1yr old girl. we'd be looking to move permentantly by this time next year. what is the primary school like? how did your children cope with the move? are there any mummy/toddler/baby groups? just after your advice and expereince to make sure that it is the right move for us
Thank you for reading this and looking forwrad to your replies
Nichola x

A must is the lingo,schools are good if its done as a family ,ie you make your kids get stuck in,if your under retirment age you will either need private medical at approx 900e per person,but the child in education will be coverd by the state,or you can work self employed but the costs before you start per month are 300e a month plus  for SE,or you may be able to get a job with a contract .... but everybody in spain is looking for a contract job.
if you buy your house you will need around 12000 e per year to live approx,ie car,ins,food,lecky.water,ect.
its a great place to live if you have the funds,if not its a nightmere with no uk safty nett like free state medical,its a great place to bring young ones up,my lad has been here from been 7 ,he is just finishing his scond year batchlarator here and hoping to go to uni here... wild horses wouldent get him back to the UK and the only time he talks english is at home,so its good for the kids ,but the worry is once they have finished school... what will they do but hey ho the world wont be bust forever.
good luck in your desision.   :tiphat:

[felipe]

There are quite a few young British families living here with young children.  I have two daughters living here and both would not go back to the UK.  One got married here and lives in Albox, both her and her husband work.  The other daughter has a 3 and half year old son who is in school and loving it.  He was here with me today and whilst playing with his train set he started rambling on in Spanish!!

The fact that they learn two languages will only stand them in good stead for when they are ready leave the nest.

There is a regular meeting group of the young wives and their children every Friday in Albox.  It is not full old fogies :)

[byrney]

Nichola,

How heartening it is that there is a young couple prepared to try and "live the dream" that many of us wish we had done when we were your age instead of leaving it until we retired.

It sounds as though you and your husband have a pair of sensible heads on and are obviously wanting to go into it with your eyes as fully open as possible.

Of course, you´ll never know until you´ve tried it but I would have thought, from what you have said about yourselves, that now is as good a time as any to "give it a go" - especially when your little girl is so young and hasn´t become emotionally involved with friends or started on the English education/exam system, both of which may make it harder to think of a move in, say, another ten years.

Other than do what you are already doing and trying to find out as much as you can before making a commitment, I would suggest that you ignore the many negative comments you will get on the Forum from people who are disenchanted by life here, either because they have made the wrong life-style choice for them, or because they have had their fingers badly burnt.

Whilst saying that, please DO listen to the likes of awaywiththefairies and ClareShirley who have personal experience of moving here with young families needing work and are aware of the pitfalls/benefits at first hand.

Anyway, if you do decide to relocate here our very best wishes, and hope that you are as happy here as the good majority of ex-pats who live here.

Paul

[awaywiththefairies]

My children first went to live in Spain  in Feb 2004 aged 3,12 and 15.  The three year old started school the following September and during his four years there were no problems. He then went back to Wales and is in Welsh medium school  The 12 year old had to repeat the first two years of secondary and then 'gave up' and went to college in the Uk and is now in Uni.  The 15 year old went straight into work.  All three made friends with both Spanish/English.  Teachers in primary school were lovely.  Middle son said he did not learn 'anything' during his three years in secondary - although three years later he started a degree at uni so he must have learnt something!

I will get shouted down here now...but what I would say is are YOU going to be happy.   Albox (and surrounds) is a very small community.  There are not many in your age group Brit wise and the Spanish although welcoming are close knit.  Somewhere that is 'great for a holiday' is not necessarily the same when you live there. Take note of 'ClareShirleys' use of the word bearable! and please believe it when people say there is no work.

However if you have the means to try it for a couple of years before possibly going back into the 'rat race' then give it a go.

[Queen Clare Shirley]

We live here in Albox,we have two girls 6 and 9. They were born here and so I cant comment on how the move affected them. The school system is very good if you want to sign your daughter up for nursery you have to submit the application in March of every year.
We love it here, the girls are doing well at school and having gone through both the Spanish and English education system myself I see a vast gap between them, they are very advanced here.
You need to look into medical care as you wont be covered unless you have private health care or are in the social security system. You cant work in the Spanish school system as it is very hard to convalidate your certifications here and there are so many new teachers applying for the jobs. But there is a demand for TEFL teachers in some of the private academies and they can pay your social.
there is a toddler group here in Albox and it has quite a few mums
The hardest barrier is of course the language, your ability to discuss important issues with your daughters teachers and also her integration into the Spanish classroom and ability to understand.
Its not the easy of times here in Spain, there are a lot of unemployment and a lot of people suffering with the burden of illegals homes but those of us lucky to be employed,its bearable.

Clare

[NicholaB]

We are fiscally able to do this through good luck and good fortune although my partner does intend to work. he works in construction and i am a primary school teacher. if i needed to work there are some job prospects for teachers :-) but thank y6ou for the advice, i do understand that the economic climate isnt good but we are just so fed up with the work/life balance we have currently as we hardly see our daughter and that isnt why we started a family (im sure lots of you can relate to this!) xx

[alfie]

Before anything else, how do you plan to support yourselves economically ? Unless you have  a cast-iron guarantee of a job, I think you would be crazy to move here in the current economic climate.

[NicholaB]

Hi!
Thinking of moving to arboleas (been visiting for years as parents villa is here) and just after the thoughts/tips and advice from any other people with children. i am 28 my husband is 31 and we have a 1yr old girl. we'd be looking to move permentantly by this time next year. what is the primary school like? how did your children cope with the move? are there any mummy/toddler/baby groups? just after your advice and expereince to make sure that it is the right move for us
Thank you for reading this and looking forwrad to your replies
Nichola x